As far as summertime cooking goes, there is simply nothing like that great, smoky taste you get from barbecuing your food. Whether you prefer steak, ribs, chicken, hamburgers, hot dogs or even scrumptious Mongolian barbecue cuisine, there are plenty of different types of food which you can slap on the grill to enhance their flavors tenfold. Unlike other styles of cooking which may involve using a skillet, wok, or your oven, barbecuing is one of those great methods that require fairly minimal preparation, not too much cleaning and an automatically great meal without too much effort. For most types of food, all you have to do is marinate a few hours beforehand and simply stick the food on your grill with a little bit of oil and your favorite barbecue sauce. Barbecuing really is that simple.
This being said, it is important to monitor to the barbecue carefully, as a barbecue tends to cook food faster and more unevenly than an electric oven, which heats evenly. This is even more true if you are using a charcoal grill, which can not only burn your food faster than you anticipated, but it can also spill embers onto the grass or dry leaves, starting a fire. For these reasons, it is crucial that you at least keep an eye on the barbecue when it’s operating.
Now, no matter what type of grill you have, be it a built in barbecue, a charcoal barbecue or a gas barbecue, most of the tips and techniques you should be familiar with are the same – although, as mentioned above, a charcoal grill will be somewhat less predictable. While traditional chefs prefer to stay in the confines of their kitchens, more and more celebrity chefs like Bobby Flay have opted to head towards the outdoors for their cooking styles. If you are looking for a quick and easy reference for all things barbecuing, as well as a plethora of great recipes, then check out one of Flay’s bestselling books. His barbecue tips can turn even the most novice griller into a seasoned professional in a few short weeks.
People across America have their own take on what constitutes the best barbecue. The two best selling styles are certainly the classic charcoal barbecue and the barbecue gas grill. This is because the classic charcoal grill provides what is arguably the best, woodiest flavor; and the barbecue gas grill is by far the easiest to control, making it the best grill for harder-to-cook dishes and wings, which you must flip constantly and monitor. However, what many people do not realize is that there are many other different types of barbecue available for purchase.
For example, the barbecue pit and the barbecue smoker grill are two versions of grill which nobody (aside from professionals) really seems to talk about. These styles are not available to purchase in stores like Home Depot or Lowes, but they are undoubtedly a great way to cook your favorite type of meat, even if you don’t have quite as much control as you would with your current gas barbecue grill. Unlike traditional charcoal and gas barbeque’s, smokers and pits give you a way to add a multitude of different barbecued tastes to your food, as they help trap in all of the wonderful aromas to give your favorite meat an amazing smoky flavor. When cooked in a pit or smoker with your favorite barbecue rub massaged into the meat, you will be delighted with a delectable treat that is far superior to anything you could hope to eat at a restaurant – or, for that matter, anything you could cook with a charcoal grill.
